Hove to off Swan Point – Page 21 – and sailing as slow as I can….

Progress on Speedwell

Paul Smith has worked his magic and built a fine new center board trunk. Beaton’s just got a load of prime Atlantic white cedar and Paul used some to fashion a new trunk for a sixty year old boat.

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New trunk
Prime cedar and mahogany should last another sixty years. This will be painted in Kirby’s finest when installed.

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Old Number 14
The number was cut out of the original trunk and set in the new one. Nice to have a bit of Phil Clarke’s hand work in the new trunk. Number 14 was the last Duckboat he built before selling the plans, patterns and mold to David Beaton in the early fifties.

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Still iced in
Ice still fills the basin. One of the f****glass boats went out though and opened a channel. This may help to break it up; all we need is a good westerly breeze.

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Clean!
Ice free bilge for the first time in a few weeks.

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Myth
Myth, pride of Bay Head in the shop for a makeover and a little TLC.

Brrrrr……

We’re still in the grip of a deep freeze and the basin’s finally frozen over. And Sjogin’s bilge is semi-solid as well. The temperatures will be in the mid to upper thirties this week so the ice shouldn’t get too thick. The ice out on the Bay is up to Swan Point but open directly across from Beaton’s.

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Solid water
Iced in but not Shackleton thick yet. About 25 this morning and about 50 below after a few Sardine stokings.

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Closing in
You can make out the ice just past Swan Point and across the Bay. Every once in a while I can manage to sail out of the basin and go exploring along the pack ice. Not today.

The open water around the pilings is from the bubblers.

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Had a visit from Kent Mountford yesterday. Shared a cuppa and talk about the Silent Maid. Kent’s writing a book about her and the lives of all who shared in her stewardship. His family owned the Maid in the 60’s. If any reader has a story about her, let me know and I’ll pass it on to Kent.

Happy New Year and Decade

All my best wishes to you all for this brand new year. It’s also the 25th year Sjogin has been in the family. My friend Jon Walters and I rescued her from the back row at Beaton’s in 1985. Probably worth an anniversary gala this Summer. She’s now 48 years old and looks like she’ll make her 50th birthday party.

No sailing this weekend; ice in the basin (and in the bilge) and high winds from the northwest since then. It’s the season for hand pumping and mid week visits to keep the old girl afloat.

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Ice!
First bit of ice in a while though gone by Sunday. With these westerlies the colder surface water is blown down Bay and replaced by the relatively warmer bottom water. The bubbler system Beaton’s uses to protect the pilings works the same way.

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Ice free!
With all these frigid days and nights I’m amazed that the basin is ice free. Went down after work today to pump her out and pick out what little ice was in the bilge. The bright sunny days have helped I imagine.

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Breakfast's ready
Breakfast’s ready. Last Sunday morning’s visit. Freezing on deck but warmish below.

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Plan ahead!
Illustration from my current read, In Tidal Waters. Details of this neat little book in the post below.

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Beaton's shop model
This is a model of the shop at Beaton’s was made in 1960 by a local craftsman. It was on display when I stopped by for their Christmas party. Detailed down to the tools on the bench and the Lightning being planked. Accurate except that’s its far too neat.

Speedwell update and more

Paul Smith has been making progress on Speedwell. The keel has been beveled and fits just so. There’s a new load of white cedar on the way from Virginia for the centerboard case and the new mast step and floors have been installed. Time to start thinking about a sail rig and spars.

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Beveling the keel
The keel is being beveled in this photo. After picking up the bevels of the garboards, the angle is recorded on a bevel board; really just a scrap of wood with a straight edge.

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The bevel board. When these boats were being built on a regular basis, there were lots of different boards like this that the builder would use to set the correct angle for each piece.

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Big clamp!
It helps to have the right clamp. The keel now fits snugly against the garboards. After fastening, the seam will be caulked with cotton and seam compound.

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New stuff
New mast step and floors installed. Since the frame ends were shot, Paul scarfed and screwed a piece of oak to the good bits. This should keep her tight when bashing to windward.

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Toasty
Last Monday. Note the snow at the base of the mast. The wind found a gap in the mast coat and flake by flake, the snow settled into a mini drift.

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New read
Here’s an illustration from the latest read on Sjogin. The caption reads “There was no alternative but to remove my nether garments.”

The book is “In Tidal Waters” by Francis B. Cooke, a sailor and writer chronicling his misadventures in the waters of the Thames Estuary and costal Essex, England in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. It came from D. N. Goodchild’s Shellback Library, a collection of folio books covering all things nautical. Browse through his collection for some terrific old titles, still available though long out of print. I have a half dozen titles so far with a few of them on Sjogin’s bookshelf.

A belated Merry White Christmas

and the Happiest and let us hope, a more Peaceful New Years to all. Home yesterday for Christmas Dinner with family and friends, old and new. Just cool enough for an all day, all evening fire.

The snow of last weekend still counts as a White Christmas though it’s melting fast. We didn’t finish digging out from a knee deep northeaster till last Monday. Didn’t get down to Sjogin till then and found a cockpit full of snow but otherwise clean decks. “Bailed” her out and had a nice fire below.

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Fully Decorated
And there’s the full extent of Holiday Decorations on Sjogin. Before the snow of course. We’re having a light ice season in the pond so far. (Touch wood!)

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Snow load
The NE wind kept the decks clean with just the cockpit to “bail”.

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Ice beard forming. No serious ice yet. I put the pump back to work after a bit of ice formed in the bilge water. Warmer now.

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Happy Hollies. The morning after the storm.

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Instant Snowman
Ready made Snowman.

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Perfect
Christmas Tree and snow, perfect together. I think the Architect of our home had Christmas in mind when he drew this window.

A close cousin

A reader from Gloucester wrote telling of his boatbuilding project and sending a few pics. When I saw the first picture I had a thrill in seeing the striking similarities with Sjogin. All photos courtesy of Matt B.

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Cousin!
It’s been a seven year project so far for Matt, building this classic in his spare time and working as a professional boatbuilder. Nice pic.

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Trunnels!
And she’s fastened with trunnels; tapered wood dowels that are driven through the planks and frames. A very old technology well used here. Note the sweep of the grain in the floor timber.

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Neat
She’ll have a small cabin with a curved front. Maybe just big enough for a small stove and a berth flat.

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Curvy
This is the framing for the cabin sides and coaming. Looks like there’ll be plenty of sprawling room.

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Forward hatch being fit. Classic details and workmanship.

Nice bit of work Matt. Hope to see more evidence of your progress.

Russ

Speedwell progress

Delighted to find a Duckboat in the Duckboat Room off the main shop at Beaton’s yesterday. And especially so since it’s Speedwell, our Clarke Duckboat. She’s number 14, built in the very early 50’s and undergoing a Keelectomy.

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Here’s Tom Beaton and Speedwell with her keel removed. This will allow the extraction and renewal of the trunk. I want to preserve the upper part as it has the number 14 carved on one side.

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New bits
She’s getting a new mast step and floors in addition to a new keel. The rest of the planking seems sound as the original rivets are still doing their job.

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Tired trunk
Tired centerboard trunk. The wavy bit is a canvas gasket that was set in bedding compound when built.

Paul Smith is doing the work. Nice to know Speedwell is in the hands of a craftsman who has kept wooden boats alive and well on Barnegat Bay for over forty years.

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Just time for a quick fire and tending to Sjogin’s Christmas decorating. I’m using the stored cane seat as a backrest. It’s the warmest spot on the boat as the heat from the stove rises and spreads to the other side. Plus good reading light from the port.

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Decoratin's done
Sjogin’s ready for Christmas. Note the low water. On Thursday there was a flood, with the Bay up over the docks and yesterday precious little.

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Ready
Ready for our annual Christmas Dinner Party. Cool and bright day. Cool enough for a fire inside….

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And outside
…and nice enough for one outside as well. Fine dinner and dancing with friends and family.

Happy Holidays All.

Who made Thomas Hoving’s Rowboat?

Photo in the NYT obit today of this groundbreaking curator at the Met. The boat the happy Hoving is rowing appears to be a livery skiff but of uncommon grace compared to the slugs used today. It even has a bit of Bolger to it. Note the touch of bottom showing right aft.

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Right over the center of the Universe
Nice lines. She looks like she would be fun to know. Any ideas as to provenance? I could see her on Stockton Lake.

Off today getting ready for our Christmas Dinner Party tomorrow and tending to a less than 100% Julia.

Signs of Winter

The off season is here with the rigging of the bubbler system at Beaton’s. It’s used to bring up the relatively warmer bottom water when ice forms to keep the pilings ice free. It helps keep the ice around Sjogin thin as well.

It may be a while before the basin freezes as we still have Impatiens blooming.

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Bubbler time
Compressed air is run through the pipes and eventually through small plastic hoses that are weighted and rest on the bottom next to the piles.

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Raw day
Raw day yesterday; wind out of the ENE at 12 to 18, spitting rain, about 35 or so.

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This about sums it up. Nasty on deck……

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Cozy
…but cozy below.

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The Duckboat room at Beaton’s being cleaned out. There are orders for a couple more rowboats that will be built in here. But first Speedwell, our Clarke Duckboat, will be brought in for a minor refit. Note the years of patterns hanging on the walls.

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Glowing marsh
Taken at dawn this past week. (Which arrives at a far too late 7:00 am this time of year.) I try to walk down to the water’s edge each morning to make sure the tide’s on schedule. The Buffleheads are back and in full force. Sorry Julia.

And as always, lots more pics on our Flickr page.

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all

I’m sure regular readers will have no trouble imagining what I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving season but here are a few clues:

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My Julia
Of course my darling Julia and our life together on the edge of this great country is at the top of the list. Taken a few weeks ago after a northeaster roared by. Surf’s up!

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Kids and Julia
And my two sons as well. Taken in Annapolis where David (on left) teaches sailing. Jeff’s a Web whizz and DJ in SW Oregon.

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Ourhouse, literally at the edge and the source of much joy.

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Sjogin
And of course our dear Sjogin, a vessel into which we have poured so many good times. Taken this morning; no sailing as the recent strong Northwesterlies have chased the water down the Bay.

And thanks to all of you who have reached out to me over the last few years through comments, e-mails or visits to Beaton’s. It’s always a treat to hear from folks, whether from across the Bay or from the other side of this increasingly shrinking planet.

Thanks to all,

Russ